From Samoa to Tonga

The beginning of this voyage included the swing rope and cave pools, and therefore, it rocked even before we started the crossing to Tonga.  I also went aloft for the first time when out in choppy sea, which was one of the scariest experiences of my life. It isn't the height, its the feeling the ship is trying to shake you off.  I also  started a new routine while at sea., doing the 4-8 watch a long with my cooking. 

After a couple of days out at sea we reached 'new potato.' well that's how the captain pronounced it...and its sister island 'new tomato.' Have to say 'new tomatoe' was definitely my favourite shaped islands so far.

 The plan was to clear through the authorities, spend a couple of days here and then head on to the Vavau group of Tongan Islands. However, the couple who deal with visiting ship were away retrieving an adoptive baby and so after a rather rolly anchor, we headed a couple of days sail to vavau. On the way we had our first proper glimpse of Whales.

As the dawn began to rise, Vavua greeted us with calm dead seas and a hundred islands.  

And when we anchored in Neafu  and cleared customs we were free to explore the islands...

Piula Cave Pools

Because a) our captain and mates are very nice and b) conditions were right, the crew got a few hours a shore whilst at anchor. Dropped off by the tender onto sandy shores, we took a 20 minute walk through a village or two before reaching the Piula cave pools. Nestled behind a theological college, for the bargain price of 5 tala I dived through my first underwater tunnel.  When we got there, our party pretty much had the place to our selves and seclusion is something you cant take for granted. 

 Swimming in the freshwater was a luxury I'd forgotten about. living on a ship, you are surrounded by water, but its horrible to swallow, makes your skin itch and is quick to heat up in the sun. the freshwater was pleasant to have a few gulps, afterwards I felt soothed and clean and was refreshingly cold.  Through the water you could see a lot of fish, big and small.  Going deeper into the cave, with the light fading, i was ready to attempt the underwater tunnel connecting two caves. Only being a few metres long, it wasn't the toughest, however for me it showed how far I'd come in the last few years. Not long ago I could hardly swim and here I was, in the darkness, diving through a narrow passage. Although i hit my head on the tunnel roof, I'm still taking it as a win.

As we were nearly done, the peace was disturbed by non other than the Samoan Rugby team.
With all that we made the leisurely walk back to our rendavue, saying hello as we went (I told you these people were very friendly) and taking pictures of pigs, homes, flowers and buses.  After three hours, Samoa got a hell of a lot better in my books.

Swing Rope

A couple hours motor sail south of Apia we anchored up. And what do you get out at anchor on a Pacific Island? The swing rope, that's what.

Some fall flat on their back

some do acrobatics....

While others dive in head first...

one will do the Buddha.

No matter how you jump

or just let go

the ending is always the same.

Sickness in Samoa

As you can tell from the title, this blog entry doesn't go well. Pretty soon after leaving Suwarrow I came down with a tummy bug.  The details I won't go into, all I can say is that when we got to Samoa a few days later, it was still lurking about. When we reached Apia, on Upola island,  we were able to clear customs alongside a wharf . The first thing that hit  me about samoa is that its hot, humid and alot bigger than the cook islands capital island, Rarotonga. Has my first impressions on Samoa began, we also said goodbye to the journey's voyage crew. With such a great bunch of people, it was sad to see them go. I hope they enjoyed the adventure as much as we did.

Living alongside, watching the neighbours move in.

After a couple of days working, getting the ship ready for our voyage down to Tonga, We were able to leave the ship and see what Apia had in store. Well, not alot on a week day night to be honest. However, we did find a cocktail bar that sold cheap pina coladas and a tasty local beer. In the morning, it turned out Zim was suffering from full blown heat stroke working through the blazing samoan sun in the rigging.  And therefore, the idea of doing any sightseeing on upola island went out the window. So while other crew visited the sliding rocks and peted turtles, I bundled a rather ill man into a taxi and went to a hotel room.  It was nothing fancy, just a family run B&B, but it had a/c, ensuite, a comfy bed and samoan TV.  We tried to sleep off our aches and pains, getting supplies for the shop next door and watching random films. Its was only in the evening we felt up to a walk around, in which there are five things that I've learnt about Samoa.

1. They love their churches. There are tonnes of them and more are being build even bigger.

2. The buses are awesome, like disco trucks crammed with people.

3. For a small town, Apia has a lot of battered women centres.

4. One the whole, the people are very smiley.

5. I saw the cutest stray puppy, can I keep it?

Apia's Clock tower - the only sightseeing we got.

Maybe there have been more exciting times, but our day in a Samoan guest house gave us time to recharge, feel cold (god bless a/c) and feel vaguely human again.

Working two more days on the ship,we even began to sleep out on deck to beat the heat.  Feeling well rested, in good health and excited about the next voyage, we welcomed aboard the new vc and sailed out of the capital.....